Israel was edging ever closer to 10,000 COVID-19 fatalities after the Health Ministry pegged the updated death toll since the onset of the pandemic at 9,933 Sunday evening.
Ministry data shows that 40 COVID-19 patients have passed away over the weekend, but these figures could be higher due to reporting backlog.
Israel recorded 226 coronavirus-related deaths last week compared to 412 the week before.
The number of daily deaths over the country's fifth wave of coronavirus morbidity peaked at 70 three times over February. The highest such figure since the first case of coronavirus was detected in Israel in March 2020 was recorded in January of last year and stood at 75.
Since the beginning of 2022, 1,676 coronavirus patients have passed away, 964 of them in February alone.
Data shows that over the last two years, one of every 950 deaths recorded in Israel was related to coronavirus.
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Chevra Kadisha workers in hazmat suits prepare body of COVID-19 victim for burial, in Holon
(Photo: AP)
Israel is ranked 85th in the world in COVID-19 deaths per capita with 1,052 deaths per million people. The global average stood at 1,320 deaths per million people but is heavily affected by China where no COVID-19 deaths have been reported over in past 12 months.
The country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths per capita is Peru, where 0.62% of the population died from the pathogen, followed by Bulgaria with 0.51 and then at the top Bosnia, Hungary, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Georgia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
The United States has recorded 2,870 COVID deaths per million people, almost three times higher than Israel. The United Kingdom recorded 2,345 per million, France 2,069 per million, and Iran 1,575 per million.
Meanwhile, the number of daily coronavirus cases is also expected to top 10,000 on Sunday as the Health Ministry reported 9,599 Israelis have tested positive since midnight.
Israeli hospitals were treating 822 COVID-19 patients in critical condition, 263 of them were connected to ventilators.
As of Sunday, the number of active coronavirus cases in Israel continued its downward trajectory and stood at 138,824, most of them either displayed mild or no symptoms at all.
Jerusalem is home to the most active virus carriers in the country with 7,600 cases. The capital is then followed by Tel Aviv with 7,589 cases, Haifa with 4,788, Be'er Sheva with 4,733, Petah Tikva with 4,399, Rishon LeZion with 3,682 and Netanya with 3,439.
Earlier Sunday, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Israel will begin allowing entry to all tourists, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, from March 1.
Entry into Israel will still require two PCR tests, one before flying in and one upon landing in the country, the statement said.